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Microsoft Admits Windows 8.1 Coming October 18th

On Wednesday, on the Blogging Windows blog, Microsoft finally revealed the official release date for Windows 8.1. Rumors about the release date have been hinted and the RTM dates to manufacturers have been talked about, but now the word is official from Redmond.

The release date for October 18th gives manufacturers and computer makers enough time to make computers for the operating system. This 2 month window from the time computer makers get it to the date the operating system is available, it will make consumers happy about the Windows 8.1 experience.

Highlights of Windows 8.1 Listed

The vision of Windows 8.1 was detailed by Microsoft in its post, and lists the features that are current present in the beta release. Those features include increased personalization, an improved Windows experience, an included Bing experience, SkyDrive inclusion in the operating system, and much more.

Microsoft Gives Computer Makers Credit

On the blog post, Microsoft gave examples of computers that highlight the Windows 8 features best to consumers. From the Microsoft Surface, the Acer W3, Lenovo Toga 11s, Toshiba KIRAbook, and Dell XPS 18, these computers and tablets are the ones that Microsoft are pointing as Windows 8 winners.

Windows Promotions Highlighted

Microsoft highlighted their Windows Chip-in program which crowdsources computer funding for students. In addition to the Windows Chip-in, the Windows Store Only at Best Buy stores will be a huge retail storefront for Windows 8.1 and the machines in the next few months. As these stores launch in August and September, the machines will be launched exclusively at the Best Buy stores.

RTM To Manufacturers Still Unknown

With all the talk about the release date of Windows 8.1, the RTM date to manufacturers still is unknown. The consumer facing details about Windows 8.1 were fully detailed, but computer makers need the bits in their hands and need to develop and configure new machines for the public and enterprises.

The news today gives consumers a date that they can circle on their calendars for Windows 8.1. This date is penciled in as the upcoming date that retailers can line up for consumers, and hopefully it will be widely available on the Windows Store for all to download soon.

Written by:Dave Amodt Dave is our news reporter, he reports on everything Microsoft, including MSFT (stock news), related Windows news as well as most hardware news.Dave runs his own content production company and publishes new content every weekday on our site. If you want to stay up to date on everything Microsoft, make sure to subscribe to Dave. He's also on Google+